Flames of Hope
by SweetieLove
Summary: While there's life, there's hope. A glimpse into the life of the various villagers of Mineral Town looking into the light amidst the struggle of darkness. As the tales continue, one realizes that hope isn't it what it seems. [UPDATE] [Tale 3: Doubt, Manna, Duke, Aja]
1. Prologue

**A/N:** I've wanted to write something like this for a while now. So, as I'm taking a short break from writing SoaS (which I am NOT abandoning), I've began writing this to… ease away some painful memories that's happened lately. My main inspiration for this piece (or pieces) is from Carrie Underwood's See You Again and Rie Tanaka's Fields of Hope.

AAAAND, I should warn you guys that this is very different from what I've done around here. For one, I may switch perspectives and writing styles for every chapter in order to suit the story. I'm writing based from experience after all. I will try to stay as rooted to Mineral Town as possible. This was only supposed to be a oneshot, too, but I ended up writing too much so I decided that this will be a series of oneshots instead. Enjoy and reviews are highly appreciated!

**Disclaimer**: The only thing I own here is the plot. T_T

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**Flames of Hope**

_Prologue_

* * *

Humans are very complex creatures. They only appreciate the living once they've died, learn to be content with what they have once they're lost, and savor a taste of happiness once they've experienced sadness. They create only for them to destroy. Bring light for them to douse in darkness once more. It's a puzzle that has been ringing for centuries. An ugly cycle that has repeated itself for eons.

Yet this is what unearths one of their true beauties. A flame, that burns ever so bright amidst the struggles, that quenches away the evil that destroys the humanity in their souls.

For after the darkness comes once more the light. After the destruction, comes forth creation. After the surge of sadness, comes happiness. After the reign of death, comes a rebirth of life.

There is a word for it, the sweetest word one can hear after a grueling battle with despair.

Hope.

It is the fire that only humans can possess and give, the only trait immortals, such as I, can't ever achieve.

Let me show you a glimpse of what this spark can bring forth to one Mineral Town.


	2. Tale 1: Love

**Tale 1:** _Love_

* * *

If there's one thing I've known in this world, it's that love gives us the strength to push our limits beyond our boundaries.

I've always believed in fairytales ever since I was young. That I'd be the princess waiting at the top of the tower for the prince who would save me from my misery. He'd fight the dragon blocking the castle and race towards the top to free me from loneliness. He'd asked my hand in marriage and I would gladly say 'yes.' We would have the most wonderful wedding in the entire kingdom and we would have our happily ever after.

But, of course, fairytales do not exist. Though I guess prince charming does.

Prince charming comes in the name of Kai.

You could say that I was the princess stuck in the castle, since I was forever stuck here in Mineral Town ever since I was born. Kai somewhat fought the dragon of which is my brother Rick, who "protected" me from him at all costs. But with determination and hard work, I was given the chance to go out with my prince. And the dragon had to stop yapping about it, too.

Once I got the chance to be with Kai, it felt like my happily ever after was right there before me. We could travel the world, launch a career as explorers, get married and maybe start a family once we wanted to settle down. A whole life of adventure was out there for the taking.

But, of course, things don't always turn out perfectly that way.

Mother's condition worsened and Rick had to work extra hard in order to pay for her medical expenses at the Clinic. In turn, it was my job to take care of her while Rick was away doing the errands and paying the bills. Kai then set off the seas without me once summer had ended.

I could have asked him to stay, and he would have done that, too. But I knew, a small part of me knew, that it would be a selfish choice. I can't hinder Kai's passion for travelling and cooking, no matter what circumstances we're in. We decided on writing letters and him calling at the Inn every once in a while in order to stay in touch. Waiting isn't _that_ bad, right?

It's not until we've been doing this for a while now that everything felt exhausting. The emotional turmoil the distance takes on us makes everything else a bit harder to bear. There's always that voice in your head that nags at the back of your mind.

_Is he alright? He hasn't sent a letter in a week now. Maybe he's busy with his business. Or maybe he's with another woman, who's much prettier, much smarter, downright __**better **__than you. _

Every relationship has its ups and downs. Fights will ensure, disagreements will occur, and breaking points will be reached. But there was never a point that we decided to end it. You know why?

Because I love and trust in him. And he does in me, too. It's the one belief that has our hopes burning despite the frustration and agony of it all.

Distance will never tear our love apart. If anything, it's brought us closer to each other more than ever.

So here I am, writing a long overdue reply to the letter he sent two weeks ago. Inserted within the letter was a small, silver band embedded with a small diamond.

I couldn't reply at first. To be honest, I'm still daunted at the prospect of marriage before me. I still have mother to worry about and the chicken farm still has to be maintained. Maybe this wasn't the right time…

I carefully folded up the envelope with nimble fingers and looked outside the window. The sun was already about to rise. It seemed that the letter had not given me a chance to sleep yet.

I put on my coat and walked briskly to the small shelter beside Kai's shack. I wanted to deliver it to Zack myself, after all. I knocked on the door once, twice, thrice with no answer in response. Turning my head towards the pier, the silhouette of a large, burly man approached me. It was Zack.

"Good morning, Popuri. What brings you here so early?"

I shakily gave him the letter I've been writing about for days now. He seemed confused when he received the letter though.

"Is this for Kai?" he asked.

"Y-y-yes," I croaked. Something didn't feel… right since Zack was stifling a laugh.

"I think you should go deliver it to him yourself."

Almost instantaneously, a white sailing ship settled itself right by the pier and placed a ladder right on the boardwalk. The sun was barely rising up above the sea yet it only took me seconds to recognize the purple bandana that soon came out.

"Poppy?" He asked, incredulous. I stood there in shock but that didn't last long.

I quickly ran up to him, arms wide open, and tackled him in a tight embrace. He lifted me off the ground and spun me around, making me feel like the lightest I've ever been. Once he settled me back down, he wrapped his arms around me a bit tighter, never once letting go.

"I'm glad you're back," I whispered to him, placing my head on his chest as I stared onto the horizon, "But it's only Spring. What made you come back so soon?"

Kai chuckled. "I've missed you, of course. And I wanted to hear your answer as soon as possible." He glanced down at my left hand and, sure enough, the silver band was there right on my ring finger.

"But, Kai," I started, "what about mother? And the chicken farm? What if I'm not ready?"

At the last statement, he looked at me with hopeful eyes. "Do you believe in me?" I nodded.

"Do you trust in me?" I nodded once more.

"Do you love me?"

"Of course, I do, do you even need to ask that?" I replied back.

He took my hand in his, "Then there's nothing to be afraid of. We'll be in this together."

"But you're a traveler," I insisted, "the whole world's practically your home. I won't always get to see you and-"

"Popuri," Kai looked at me straight in the eye, "You will see me again. And again. And again. And again. I'll be right here beside you."

Tears slowly welled up in my eyes. "But your home-"

"Is here, Poppy."

I cried out in joy as I embraced him tighter this time, "Welcome home, Kai. I've missed you."

The diamond shined as the sun rose above the sea.

* * *

_As Zack marveled at the sight of the two, he failed to notice two more individuals leaving the ship and heading back to the town. _


	3. Tale 2: No Ends

**A/N:** This was something that happened to a dear friend of mine. Swap in the real-life counterparts with Harvest Moon characters and you've got a really sweet story.

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**Tale 2**: _No Ends_

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The life of a hostess is not an easy one, I tell you.

You wake up at the break of dawn to start preparing breakfast, set up the tables and counters for the morning rush, arrange the utensils in proper order, finish the laundry and ring the bell for everyone to rise to sunshine.

And that's only the beginning of the day.

For a normal day, that is.

Today, my father has given me the chance to take a day off for once. Since it's only the beginning of Spring, we've only got the regulars around to keep us company. And since most of them woke up early to watch the first sunrise of the new year, not many people are left at the Inn.

Once I woke up at around five in the morning, I took a quick shower and headed down to the Kitchen to cook myself some breakfast. Though I have the day off, I've been doing this morning routine for years and old habits die hard.

I opened the stove to fry some eggs when I noticed a wine bottle placed on the counter. I immediately regret doing that since it brought back a painful memory.

* * *

"_Will I ever see you again?"_

_I held onto Cliff's hand tightly as he was about to board the ship sailing to Goddess-knows-where. The tourist cruisehas long gone left the pier and most of the villagers have finished saying their goodbyes. Only the small boat that usually takes the villagers the city was left. It was only the two of us in that little area but it felt like it was only the two of us left in the world. _

_Cliff turned around to face me. He was practically the shyest, albeit weakest, guy I've ever met yet he'd shown me a side of myself I never knew I had. We had great memories at the Inn and at the mountains. Whether it was when I brought him food, or helped his errands, or just plain manning him up a notch. He showed me a future I never even planned on having and here was off to one I had hoped that would never happen._

_I wish he could've stayed. I wish he didn't have to leave._

_I wanted to stay strong, but I've grown tired of people walking out of my life. I already lost my mom when I was a kid and Joanna left the village years ago and never came back. I couldn't afford to lose Cliff, too. _

_Before any tears could slip out, he lifted my chin up and smiled, the biggest yet saddest smile I've seen from him, "This isn't the end, Ann."_

_And with that last gaze from his coffee-brown eyes, he let go of my hand and set off to sea._

* * *

Who knew a cheap, little, green, glass bottle would drive me into burning the eggs I was so looking forward to eat? I was even looking forward to having an omelette for breakfast. I threw the burnt dish into the bin and let my thoughts wander as I washed the pan.

When a person who's very dear to your heart is gone for a while, you can't help but miss them. No matter how hard you try not to, no matter how much you put into it, there'll always be a piece missing inside you.

"Thinking's not helping me at all," I muttered. I decided to just polish up the bottles and glasses at the counter. Concentrating on not breaking anything might help me remove any sad thoughts from infiltrating my mind again.

After cleaning up the pan and storing the ingredients back, I opened the door leading out to the dining hall. No one occupied the tables as of yet. I shrugged.

I turned left to start on checking inventory when I stopped dead on my tracks.

There on the counter, with the checklist and pen on his hand, counting the bottles and ingredients on the shelves.

No way. It can't possibly be.

"Cliff?"

He turned to face me with confident eyes and that annoying shy smile of his, "Hi, Ann."

"Idiot!" I screamed before grabbing him by the collar, "Why are you here?"

"To start on the job. Duke mailed me saying he needed an assistant at the winery and here I am."

"You… didn't even bother to send me a letter?" I was trying so hard not to scream.

"Uhhh…"

"Not even a call while you were away?" The effort was getting harder.

"Um…" Cliff was scratching his head now.

I let go of his collar, my eyes downcast. All the pent-up rage I've been wanting to scream seemed to have just dissolved in plain sadness. "Cliff, I thought I was never going to see you again. I kept hoping you'd stay in touch once in a while but…"

This time, it was Cliff who made the bold move, though shaky. He placed his hand on my arms and smiled. "Hey, I'm here now. We've seen each other again. Isn't that… what really matters?"

I raised my head to look at him in the eye before locking my arms around him in an embrace.

"Idiot. Don't ever leave like that ever again."

To which Cliff humbly replied, "I told you, right? This isn't the end."

_A ghost of a smile appeared on the stranger staring from the door of the Inn. _


	4. Tale 3: Doubt

Manna thought the most painful thing in the world was losing her most precious daughter. It turned out something was much more heart-wrenching than that feeling of loss: it was accepting the fact that she'll never get to chance to create beautiful memories with her ever again. Aja left the household because of them. And she didn't plan on ever returning.

The raven-haired matron was staring at the small picture frame in her hands. There placed was her daughter's portrait when she barely turned the ripe age of sixteen. She looked just like her mother. Shoulder-length raven-colored hair, eyes as dark as charcoal and an aura of mischief that was practically tattooed on her face.

It was not the portrait of her daughter that upset Manna the most.

It was the smile that was engraved on her daughter's lips.

For years, Manna and Duke had struggled to live a normal life in the peaceful village. All they wanted, after all, was to see their daughter as happy as the other children were in Mineral Town. But there was always a snag in their plans. It either began with Duke's intoxicated state due to his alcohol addiction or Manna's need to gossip about the townsfolk with her friends. Either way, it always, _always_, ended up with the two of them fighting about everything.

"Can't blame her," Manna whispered as she traced her daughter's features, "we didn't know what to do about it either."

Before she knew it, she felt her husband sit beside her on their bed. He gently placed his arms on her shoulder and pulled her closer to his side. "Are you thinking about our daughter again?"

She looked up with sad eyes, "I always think about our daughter, Duke. It's the only thing I think about in this world."

"She's a grown and independent girl. I'm pretty sure she can handle herself. She got your stubbornness, after all."

A small smile slowly made its way to his wife's face. But it was soon replaced with a small frown as she looked at the portrait once more.

"I… just want to see her again, you know? It's been how many years, Duke," she cried out in exasperation, "Do you think she even misses us? Do you think she even _thinks_ about us?"

Duke gently stroked her hair, whispering small words of comfort to ease away their pain. Though they know it's hopeless, the only thing they wanted was to see their daughter's happiness, even if it meant leaving their lives for good.

"You know what?" Duke could barely believe he was saying this sober, "She believed in us, remember? She always hoped that we could patch things up for her so that we could live as a nice, normal family.

"Though I think she practically lost most of her hopes on us when she ran away, I think there's still some left. Deep inside, I'm hoping that Aja still believes in us, still hopes on us being together again."

Manna settled the picture frame on the bedside table before standing up to face the window. The sun was barely up at the sky yet she felt that the day was almost over.

"Are you saying… that you think we'll see her again soon, Duke?" Manna inquired with curious eyes.

Her husband stood beside her to whisper in her ear.

"I _know_ we'll see her again, soon. As long as there's life, there's hope."

_The stranger looked at the couple with sad eyes before walking on ahead to the path that led to deeper into the village._


End file.
